Research and Markets: USA Digital TV - A Comprehensive Report on USA's Broadcasting & IPTV Markets

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/eebfbd/usa_digital_tv) has announced the addition of the "USA - Digital TV - Broadcasting & IPTV Market" report to their offering.

Although the FTA networks, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC all offer digital and increasingly High Definition TV programming, for many years they have been losing audience share to the cable and satellite TV networks. The Big Three are expected to continue to lose market share to the DBS and cable providers as well as, incrementally, to the telcos IPTV networks. The US now has one of the highest rates of pay-TV penetration in the world. By 2010 there were over 100 million pay-TV (or Multichannel Video Programming Distributors) subscribers in the US, amounting to over 85% of households. A significant trend in the digital TV market is the shift towards video-on-demand and other forms of online video viewing, a trend which will continue to strengthen along with the growth of broadband networks. In the 1950s to 1970s three large privately-owned networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, claimed 90% of the US TV market with free broadcasts. The rapid spread of pay TV over cable in the 1980s broke the hegemony of the big three and by 2001 around 70% of US TV households subscribed to cable TV (CATV).

During the early 1990s Digital TV (DTV) was available via Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) through antenna, via digital cable and via digital satellite. In the late 1990s other delivery technologies became available, such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) using digital radio transmission to allow handheld devices such as mobile phones to receive TV signals, as well as network infrastructures that deliver TV over Internet Protocol (IPTV).

In particular, while the telecom sector fought the unbundling provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the CATV companies capitalised on this opportunity by digitalising their cable infrastructure, with the result that by 2006 approximately 99% of US households were passed by digital cable. By end-2009 around 87% (or just over 99 million) of US households subscribed to some form of Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPD) service, predominantly cable (62% of households) and satellite TV (33% of households).

Initially, the introduction of DTV did not affect the competitive landscape in the USA with the national Free-to-Air (FTA) networks and content providers remaining as the dominant players. Acquisitions and mergers affected consumer choice more than new technologies. However, since 2000 digital technology has gradually brought about the convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting and content services, causing the market to substantially transform.

For instance, in 2000 the CATV companies launched broadband access services over their digital cable infrastructure and by end-2004 had captured around 60% of broadband subscribers. Another significant change took place in 2004/05, when the dominant cable companies began to build out digital voice telephony or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) infrastructure across their footprints, enabling them to offer triple play communication services - voice, broadband Internet and DTV content - over the same cable pipeline into the home. This placed them as direct competitors to the telcos.

The powerful telcos, Verizon, SBC, BellSouth and Qwest, responded by entering the broadcasting market initially through partnerships with satellite Direct Broadcasting Service (DBS) broadcasters, bundling satellite TV with the telcos voice and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) broadband. The long-term telco strategy is to build fibre deep into their networks, enabling them to deliver DTV over their own broadband networks.

The study, which was conducted over a three year period and which compared the spending behaviour in households with and without a DVR, found that there was no difference between households in patterns of purchasing of advertised products across 50 categories. The lack of impact was attributed to several factors, including the fact that around 95% of Americans still watch live television. Furthermore, even though some viewers may fast-forward through as much as 70% of commercials, they are still obliged to watch the commercials in order to determine when to resume play, albeit in fast motion, and are thus still being exposed to the advertisements.

The report is expected to be welcome news to manufacturers and advertising companies who have held grave fears about the future of TV advertising in recent years in the face of the increased popularity of both DVRs, IPTV and other developing technologies.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Synopsis

2. Regulatory issues

3. IPTV

4. Cable DTV

5. Satellite Direct Broadcasting Service (DBS)

6. Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV)

7. Digital TV consumer products

8. Related reports

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/eebfbd/usa_digital_tv

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Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
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KEYWORDS:   United States  North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Entertainment  TV and Radio  Technology  Networks  Telecommunications

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